Obama's Iraq Is Not Bush's Iraq  —  The war against ISIS may fail.  But morally, it's the opposite of Bush's war, and if it succeeds, it will do so for precisely that reason.  —  Last week, a Politico reporter phoned me to ascertain my thoughts on the new war.

In conservative media, Obamacare is a disaster.  In the real world, it's working.  —  Before Obamacare launched, conservative outlets warned that the law would collapse as insurers shunned the overpriced, overregulated insurance exchanges.  “More Insurers Drop Out Of Exchanges,” warned Fox Business.

UPDATE |  Traficant ‘critical;’ doctors to make determination within 72 hours  —  GREENFORD — Ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. is in “very critical condition” after an accident on his family farm, his wife, Tish Traficant, said today.  —  The former congressman, 73, is …

How DC's conservative elite view liberals  —  What do conservatives think of liberals today?  —  Here's the view from the Heritage Foundation: Liberalism creates self-indulgent, licentious hedonists willing to cede every other kind of freedom to an increasingly authoritarian government.

Americans Continue to Say a Third Political Party Is Needed  —  Views little changed from last year  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of U.S. adults, 58%, say a third U.S. political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic parties “do such a poor job” representing the American people.

Federal Court Lifts Injunction In Walker Investigation  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a lower court's ruling halting an investigation into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and more than two dozen conservative groups for alleged illegal campaign activity.

Family Says Louisiana Deputy Shot 14-year-old ‘Four Or Five Times In The Back’  —  Louisiana State Police were investigating on Wednesday after a Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's deputy fatally shot a 14-year-old boy.  —  Louisiana State Police were investigating on Wednesday …

Justice Dept. to investigate police shooting of Fairfield man  —  Special grand jury declines to indict officers in Walmart shooting  —  A special grand jury has declined to indict either police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a Tri-State man at a Dayton-area Walmart.

Breaking: 6th Circuit Upholds Federal Court Order Extending Ohio Early Voting: Analysis  —  You can read the unanimous 46 page opinion at this link.  This result is as expected after the same 6th Circuit panel refused an earlier stay request from Ohio.  Here are my thoughts on this opinion.

Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports  —  White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media's eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities.  They are written by reporters for other reporters …

Presidents Shouldn't Feel Obligated to Salute the Military  —  The dumb thing in the news today is that President Obama saluted a marine on Tuesday while holding a cup of coffee.  It was probably filled with tea, because Obama doesn't drink much coffee, but conservatives are calling it a latte …

Hillary Clinton stands with Obama on airstrikes, arming Syrian rebels  —  New York (CNN) — Hillary Clinton publicly backed President Barack Obama's authorization of Syrian airstrikes during a panel discussion in New York Wednesday and attempted to dismiss previous disagreements she had with the Obama administration on Syria.

French hostage Herve Gourdel ‘beheaded in Algeria’  —  An Algerian jihadist group has released a video that appears to show the beheading of French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was seized on Sunday.  —  Jund al-Khilafa, an ally of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq …

‘Key & Peele’ stars too busy for Obama  —  The stars of “Key & Peele” say President Obama originally wanted to push ObamaCare in a sketch with the comedy duo, but they couldn't fit a presidential skit into their schedules.  —  “We had to turn him down,” Jordan Peele, one half …

ESPN Statement on Bill Simmons  —  “Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN's journalistic standards.  We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria.

New York Times Promotes Editors, in Change of Leadership Structure  —  The executive editor of The New York Times announced broad changes to the newspaper's leadership Wednesday, replacing titles that had been used for decades and promoting several senior editors.

Secret G.O.P. Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for Access to Governors  —  WASHINGTON — In politics, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good.  Republicans and Democrats, and groups sympathetic to both, spend millions on sophisticated technology to gain an advantage.

Virginia Candidate Who Backed Forced Ultrasound Law Tries To Win Back Women Voters  —  WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA — In a windowless Elks Lodge ballroom on Saturday, a group of about 50 white and elderly Republicans dined on barbecue and sheet cake as they listened to a brief campaign pitch from Barbara Comstock …

In Kansas, longtime GOP Sen. Pat Roberts faces doubts as he scrambles to hold seat  —  KINSLEY, Kan. — Shirley Deege is a proud Republican.  For as long as she can remember, the nurse has been voting for Pat Roberts — in the 1980s, when he represented a vast patchwork of dusty plains hamlets …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Why I can't resign now  —  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is pushing back against suggestions that she should soon retire, saying President Barack Obama would be unable to get a justice like her through the Senate.  —  “Who do you think President Obama …